<p>Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday launched a scheme to provide fine rice free of cost to the poor under the Public Distribution System (PDS).</p>.<p>Reddy officially kicked off the scheme on Saturday evening at a public meeting in Huzurnagar, Suryapet district, by handing over rice bags to a few beneficiaries.</p>.<p>Speaking on the occasion, he said that the free coarse rice provided by the government was not being consumed by the poor due to an improvement in their financial status. Beneficiaries now prefer eating fine rice, he added.</p>.<p>Taking advantage of this situation, millers and middlemen have been purchasing coarse rice from the poor for just Rs 10 per kg and reselling it to the government for Rs 30 per kg, he alleged.</p>.Telangana govt will develop 'Future City' as role model for country: CM Revanth Reddy.<p>To address this, the government has decided to provide six kilograms of fine rice per person through the PDS, he said.</p>.<p>"We wanted every day to be a festival with fine rice for the poor," he said.</p>.<p>He recalled the pro-poor initiatives of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in line with the slogan 'roti, kapda aur makan' (food, clothing, and shelter), as well as the subsidised rice schemes introduced by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers K Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy (Congress) and N T Rama Rao (TDP), which provided rice at Rs 2 per kg.</p>.<p>The country should remain indebted to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for introducing the Food Security Act during the UPA regime, Reddy stated.</p>.<p>He further claimed that the fine rice scheme introduced by the Congress government would go down in history as a landmark pro-poor measure.</p>.<p>Slamming BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, Reddy alleged that while serving as chief minister, Rao had advised farmers not to cultivate paddy but had personally sold the paddy produced at his farmhouse for over Rs 4,500 per quintal.</p>.<p>Legislative Assembly Speaker G Prasad Kumar, state Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy—who represents Huzurnagar in the Assembly—and other leaders attended the event.</p>.<p>The scheme will benefit over 3.10 crore people, an official release stated.</p>
<p>Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday launched a scheme to provide fine rice free of cost to the poor under the Public Distribution System (PDS).</p>.<p>Reddy officially kicked off the scheme on Saturday evening at a public meeting in Huzurnagar, Suryapet district, by handing over rice bags to a few beneficiaries.</p>.<p>Speaking on the occasion, he said that the free coarse rice provided by the government was not being consumed by the poor due to an improvement in their financial status. Beneficiaries now prefer eating fine rice, he added.</p>.<p>Taking advantage of this situation, millers and middlemen have been purchasing coarse rice from the poor for just Rs 10 per kg and reselling it to the government for Rs 30 per kg, he alleged.</p>.Telangana govt will develop 'Future City' as role model for country: CM Revanth Reddy.<p>To address this, the government has decided to provide six kilograms of fine rice per person through the PDS, he said.</p>.<p>"We wanted every day to be a festival with fine rice for the poor," he said.</p>.<p>He recalled the pro-poor initiatives of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in line with the slogan 'roti, kapda aur makan' (food, clothing, and shelter), as well as the subsidised rice schemes introduced by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers K Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy (Congress) and N T Rama Rao (TDP), which provided rice at Rs 2 per kg.</p>.<p>The country should remain indebted to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for introducing the Food Security Act during the UPA regime, Reddy stated.</p>.<p>He further claimed that the fine rice scheme introduced by the Congress government would go down in history as a landmark pro-poor measure.</p>.<p>Slamming BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, Reddy alleged that while serving as chief minister, Rao had advised farmers not to cultivate paddy but had personally sold the paddy produced at his farmhouse for over Rs 4,500 per quintal.</p>.<p>Legislative Assembly Speaker G Prasad Kumar, state Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy—who represents Huzurnagar in the Assembly—and other leaders attended the event.</p>.<p>The scheme will benefit over 3.10 crore people, an official release stated.</p>